Wood cutting boards are popular among home chefs for their durability and their reliability. Compared to other cutting boards, wooden ones have attractive designs and don’t have a negative impact on your knives. Even bacteria don’t contaminate them easily, so you don’t need to worry about getting food poisoning.
But of course, this only depends on if you clean it properly. Many people worry about whether they can clean a wooden cutting board, but there’s no reason to worry.
Even though they shouldn’t be thrown into a dishwasher, cleaning a wooden cutting board isn’t nearly as difficult as many people seem to think.
Clean Daily
You should always wash your wooden cutting board every day with dishwashing liquid. Then rinse them in hot water, wipe them down, and allow them to air dry in an upright position.
You don’t have to worry about raw meat bacteria lingering on a hardwood cutting board as it has a naturally antimicrobial material.
The wood grain pulls the fluid down the board and traps the bacteria, which is then cleaned off when the board dries.
Deep Cleaning Your Wooden Cutting Board
You should do a deep cleaning of your wooden cutting board every few weeks. There are a variety of methods you can use to do this. Here are some examples of how you can successfully disinfect your wooden cutting board.
Use Lemon and Salt
Lemon and salt are great for removing burn stains and doing a thorough cleaning of your cutting board. You should get coarse salt and cut a lemon in half.
Sprinkle your salt on the board. Then, rub the fleshy inner half of the lemon onto it. Allow it to sit like this for about five minutes, and then rinse off the remnants of salt and lemon with hot water, and allow the board to air dry.
Use Vinegar
White vinegar will help disinfect and clean your board. You just need to mix one part white vinegar with four parts water, or hydrogen peroxide, if you prefer.
Then, soak your wooden cutting board in this solution for about five minutes. You should then rinse off the solution and air dry it.
Whatever you do, don’t forget about removing your wooden cutting board from the solution. You also shouldn’t leave it there for longer because of any stubborn stains that won’t be removed.
Instead, get some baking soda and sprinkle it on your wooden cutting board and gently scrub it. Hopefully, this should work, and you should be rid of the stains.
Use Bleach
While you may think that bleach will damage your cutting board, this isn’t the case. If you get a diluted bleach solution, you will be able to remove the worst of the stains on your board.
To dilute the bleach, add a tablespoon of it to a gallon of water. Then, soak your wooden cutting board in this solution for around five minutes. After that, dry it off. Then, your wooden cutting board should be free of any stains.
Don’t Use A Dishwasher
You may think that putting a wooden cutting board in the dishwasher will save time, but it will actually have the opposite effect.
Wooden cutting boards are made of end grain blocks or they are made of glued-up edge grain. If you use a dishwasher to clean your wooden cutting board, it will be exposed to both heat and water for too long.
By exposing it to these elements, you will end up with a warped and cracked wooden cutting board, which will make it easier for bacteria to enter it.
When your board gets warped and cracked, it will mean that you will have to replace it sooner, instead of ensuring it lasts for longer.
While there are some who report that dishwashers will sanitize your cutting board, that will only work for plastic or glass ones. In the case of wooden cutting boards, you will only damage them by putting them in the dishwasher.
Maintaining Your Wooden Cutting Board
While cleaning daily can help keep your wooden cutting board clean, it’s also essential that you look after it properly. You want your wooden cutting board to retain its antimicrobial properties. You also don’t want the wood to crack, warp, or dry out.
By doing this, you should use oil to prevent water from soaking into the wood. The oil takes up space in the little crevices of your board in between wood fibers. It prevents water from soaking in, so your wood won’t split or crack open.
Bacteria love to hide away in these, so preventing cracks can protect your cutting board and keep it sanitary. You should oil your wooden cutting board once a month after you disinfect it.
If you’re wondering what type of wood you should use, we recommend food-grade mineral oil. Using other fats, including olive oil or anything animal-based can eventually spoil the wood.
Using the wrong type of fat can cause the wood to spoil and cause a nasty odor, which will attract more bacteria to it. To avoid this, use food-grade mineral oil and apply a thin coat to its surface. Apply the thin coat to all sides, whether it’s the front, back, or sides, all of these should have a thin coat.
Then, you should use a paper towel to buff the oil into it with a circular motion. Then, let it soak for a few hours. After this, you should have no concerns about replacing it any time soon!
Conclusion
Hand washing your wooden cutting board daily and performing monthly maintenance is essential. By ensuring that you properly maintain it, you will find that your cutting board will last for longer, and you won’t have to replace them with a new one every few months.
To ensure that you can keep your cutting board for longer, you should ensure that you keep them away from a dishwasher. With these tips, your wooden cutting board should serve you well for many years.
